Chris While

Born in 1956 in the seaport town of Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire native Chris While developed into a multifaceted British singer and songwriter drawn to artistic partnerships and the fusion of traditional English folk with rootsy Americana. She refined her guitar technique and vocal delivery through regular appearances at area folk clubs before leaving home to travel and perform with her husband at the time, pianist and songwriter Joe While. Their marriage ended in 1991, prompting her to start a solo career via the release of her first album, Still on Fire. By Request followed the next year, and in 1993 she became a core member of the Albion Band, remaining active with the group on stage, on tour, and in the studio through 1997. Around the same period she forged a lasting creative alliance with former bandmate Julie Matthews, yielding a series of joint recordings that opened with Piecework in 1998. The duo’s 2010s project, Who We Are, appeared in 2014 on FatCat Records.